


zuko and his good friend johannes chrysostomus wolfgangus theophilus mozart

by oldpapertowns



Series: chemical christmas 2020 [19]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Getting Together, M/M, Oneshot, cellist!zuko, chemical christmas, no beta we die like my last brain cell did yesterday, violist!sokka
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-19
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:40:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28181052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oldpapertowns/pseuds/oldpapertowns
Summary: Ty Lee: ZUKO!!!Ty Lee: DO ME A FAVOR. PLEASE.Zuko: ...what.Ty Lee: You know Mozart, right? His quartet No. 2 in D Major?Zuko: yes, my good pal wolfgang amadeus mozart. i know him. we regularly attend dinner parties together.Ty Lee: ZUKO!!!Ty Lee: THAT’S NOT WHAT I MEANT AND YOU KNOW IT!!!!!!Zuko: and you know i hate mozart. with a burning passion.OR: ty lee’s string quartet needs a cellist because theirs ditched them on recital day. enter zuko, who’s more than willing to play mozart when he meets a certain blue-eyed violist.
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko, Ty Lee & Zuko
Series: chemical christmas 2020 [19]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2036416
Comments: 32
Kudos: 157





	zuko and his good friend johannes chrysostomus wolfgangus theophilus mozart

**Author's Note:**

> day 19 of chemical christmas - cathedral! prompt list by @saintmichale_ on instagram
> 
> i am a simple person: i see [art of cellist!zuko](https://hi-raethia.tumblr.com/post/636599116562153472/i-can-make-a-cellist-zuko-doodle-as-a-treat-for), i don’t stop thinking about it until i write over 2k about it
> 
> this was written in celebration of finals week finally ending but the end of finals week also means roughly 10% of my brain works at a time, so apologies in advance for weird flow. happy reading!

Ty Lee: ZUKO!!!   
Ty Lee: DO ME A FAVOR. PLEASE.

Zuko: ...what.

Ty Lee: You know Mozart, right? His quartet No. 2 in D Major?

Zuko: yes, my good pal wolfgang amadeus mozart. i know him. we regularly attend dinner parties together.

Ty Lee: ZUKO!!!   
Ty Lee: THAT’S NOT WHAT I MEANT AND YOU KNOW IT!!!!!!

Zuko: and you know i hate mozart. with a burning passion.

Ty Lee: Well, yes.

Ty Lee: But our cellist ditched on us and we can’t find any others who know this quartet, and I know you know it because you’ve definitely played it before because you were put into a fancy chamber music program.

Zuko: can’t you just, i dunno, practice without your cellist?

Ty Lee: No.   
Ty Lee: This is our performance.

Zuko: sorry, what.   
Zuko: your cellist ditched you guys on recital day?

Ty Lee: Yes! Which is why we need a cellist ASAP!!!!   
Ty Lee: We’ve already been pushed to the back of the program. The concert starts in twenty minutes, which means if you get here when it starts we can rehearse for two hours or so.

Zuko: you owe me one. big time.

Ty Lee: I know!! Just please get here!!!

Zuko: don’t i need a stand? or the music?

Ty Lee: No and no. Our violist has the score and extra copies of everyone’s music and there are already stands here.

Zuko: that seems overprepared

Ty Lee: But it’s saving our asses today.   
Ty Lee: Hurry up!

Zuko: ty, send me the address. i need the address to hurry up.   
Zuko: is it the cathedral?

Ty Lee: It’s the cathedral. Please hurry, the concert starts in 18 minutes!!!   
Ty Lee: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So here Zuko is, standing outside the local cathedral with his cello on his back, feeling strangely empty handed without any music. He hears an ensemble playing - a piano trio? - and winces when the violinist misses the high note.

Zuko: i’m here. this ensemble sounds terrible.

Ty Lee: Stay there!! Our violist is coming to get you with your music.

Zuko sighs and shifts his weight from side to side, hands hooking through the straps attached to his cello case. He doesn’t have to wait for long.

“Hey!” Zuko turns to find someone dressed in all black running towards him, a sheaf of papers in their hand. They wave, and the music is shoved into Zuko’s hands as soon as they’re within reach.

Zuko makes a face at the “W. A. Mozart” written across the top of the page but dutifully starts looking through the music.

“I’m Sokka,” says the other. “Ty Lee sent me out here to receive you because she said you’d murder her if she came to greet you.”

Zuko hums in response, trying to figure out a fingering that would work for one of the few two-measure micro solos the cello gets.

“I, uh- hmm.” Zuko sees Sokka look at him out of the corner of his eye. “Do I just… drag you to our temporary rehearsal room?”

Zuko doesn’t register what the violist’s said, too engrossed in the music. As Sokka repeats the question, Zuko gets poked in the side. Annoyed, he looks up, but the annoyed look falls off his face in a heartbeat because oh god, Sokka’s one of those boys who are effortlessly beautiful and full of life.

And also one who Zuko is totally staring at. Shit. “Hello?” Sokka is asking, waving a hand in front of Zuko’s face.

“What?” Zuko snaps, flustered into prickliness.

“Do you want me to guide you to the practice room so you can focus on the music?”

“Oh.” Zuko frowns down at the music like it’s pissed on his bed. “That’s a good idea.”

Sokka nods and takes Zuko’s arm, letting Zuko focus on the music as they walk around to the side of the building. He’s vaguely aware of a door being pushed open and walking through it.

“Finally!” Ty Lee’s voice’s cuts through his thoughts.

“Do you have a pencil?” Zuko asks in lieu of a greeting, about to set his case down next to the cellist’s chair. He pauses when he sees that it’s between Ty Lee and Sokka, which is… not great, if he wants to be able to see the violist for cues. “Also, can we switch the viola and cello chairs?”

“Sure.” Sokka gathers his music and scoots his case over without comment. Zuko gives him a small, grateful smile and receives a grin in return. He looks away, praying that the heat he feels creeping up his face isn’t noticeable.

He’s distracted by Ty Lee shoving a pencil in his hand. He takes it with a nod of thanks and starts scribbling down the fingering he’d come up with. Except- maybe not shifting would work better? Is that what he’d done the last time he’d played this?

Zuko undoes the clasps on his case, sets up his endpin stopper, tightens the bow, pulls out the endpin, sets his cello on the ground, and starts tuning with an ease that only comes with years of practice.

Setup complete, Zuko tries the passage with the fingering he’d come up with. Yeah, not shifting would definitely be better.  _ Horrible either way, _ he thinks with a sigh, writing it down. Leaning back and casting an eye over the rest of the music, Zuko nods. He’s gone over the hardest parts, at least. He’s about to play through the passages again when someone clears their throat.

Ah. Right.

“Sorry.” Zuko offers a sheepish smile at the other three musicians in the room. “Got a bit carried away.”

“You’re good!” chirps the guy Zuko doesn’t know. A violin is tucked under his arm, and he walks over to sit in the seat opposite Zuko, smiling wide and friendly. “Zuko, right? I’m Aang, first violinist. You know our second violinist, Ty Lee - who saved our butts by pulling you out of nowhere, by the way - and Sokka is our violist.”

Sokka’s sitting cross-legged in the chair to the right of Zuko, viola in his lap and bow on the music stand. “I’d ask if you need to listen to a recording of the piece, but you seem to know it pretty well. Are you a fan of Mozart?”

Ty Lee very badly stifles a laugh. Zuko glowers at her as he says stiffly, “I hate Mozart. I’ve played this before, is all.”

“Oh.” A curiously calculating look comes over Sokka’s face. “What about, say, Beethoven?”

“Not bad,” Zuko responds truthfully. An idea comes to mind, then, and he says with a tiny, fleeting smile, “I like Tchaikovsky better.”

Sokka’s face lights up. “What about Jean-Baptiste de Lully?”

Zuko can’t fucking believe his idea worked. Sokka’s smarter than he lets on. He nods and responds, “Handel and Saint-Saëns?”

Sokka nods enthusiastically. “Copland, Britten, Barber.”

“Leonard Bernstein.”

Sokka’s grinning as he asks, “Clara or Robert Schumann?”

Zuko tilts his head, taking in the way Sokka’s sitting and the way they’ve named only queer composers so far. He makes a bit of an educated guess and says, “Robert.”

“Nice.” Sokka’s grin only gets bigger and more elated. “I like both.”

_ That bodes well, _ Zuko thinks, unable to resist the urge to smile back at Sokka.

“Um.” Aang looks bemused, while Ty Lee looks absolutely delighted. Whoops. Zuko forgot about her. He raises an eyebrow at her and gestures at his cello.  _ You owe me, remember? Do not mention this to anybody. _

Ty Lee pouts but nods reluctantly. Then she gives him a look that screams,  _ If you two get together after today I  _ will _ be known as the wingman. _

Faint applause jolts everybody back into action as they all simultaneously remember that they still have to rehearse the piece. Not having to speak, Zuko plays an open A, and the sound of tuning fills the room.

The quartet goes through the piece systematically, breaking down the places to find where Zuko needs to make eye contact with someone to make sure they’re together, where Zuko should back off or get a bit louder.

“Runthrough time?” Sokka asks.

Zuko nods, and their instruments all go in rest position.

Aang meets their eyes in turn, then raises his violin, tucking it under his chin. Everyone prepares to play as well, waiting for Aang’s cue.

Then they’re off.

For once, Zuko’s glad for the simple accompaniment part. Aang sets a fast tempo, but his sound is clean and his cues are easy to follow.

Zuko can’t help the smile that makes its way on his face whenever he meets Sokka’s eye. He also doesn’t want to break eye contact, but he has to in order to not lose his place.

After maybe five instances of eye contact with Sokka and the flush that always results afterwards, the quartet finishes the movement. A silence hangs in the air for a few moments as the final chord reverberates in the air.

Zuko’s the first to break the silence, leaning back in his chair. “Not bad.”

Sokka splutters. “Not bad?”

Uh oh. “...Was it horrible?” Zuko offers. He genuinely hadn’t thought the runthrough had been that bad. Although he definitely could have paid more attention to the dynamics and might’ve missed a note or two.

“That was the best runthrough we’ve ever done,” Aang says. “Even though we’ve never rehearsed with you before.”

“Oh.” Zuko has no idea how to reply to that. “Your cellist must’ve sucked.”

“He didn’t.”

Yeah, Zuko doesn’t know how to respond.

Ty Lee seems to sense his floundering. “Do you guys have any spots you want to rehearse? Any notes?”

Everyone shakes their heads, which is surprising.

“We might actually be able to perform at our original time, then,” says Ty Lee, looking at her phone. “It’s only been 45 minutes.” She glances up at the ensemble. “You guys okay with that?”

Zuko shrugs as Sokka and Aang nod.

“Okay. Aang, do you want to go tell…”

Zuko tunes her out in favor of running through passages in his head again, only tuning back in when he hears Ty Lee say “go change,” followed by the door closing.

...Shit.

“What do I wear?” he asks, dreading having to go onstage in his current outfit. His black jeans and shoes would probably barely pass, but his bright red shirt are likely to stand out obnoxiously. When he looks up, Sokka’s the only other person in the room.

“I have an extra shirt,” volunteers Sokka, pulling out a bunch of black cloth from his bag. “You can wear it.”

“Wh-” Zuko cuts himself off, setting his cello on its side and standing up. “Okay. Thanks.”

He takes off his sweatshirt and reaches for his shirt, only stopping when Sokka makes a choked noise. “What?”

“Don’t you want to change in the bathroom?” Sokka looks a bit flushed, and something clicks in Zuko’s mind.

“I can if you want me to.”

“Oh. No, it’s- it’s fine.”

“Okay.”

Soon enough, Zuko’s dressed in a black shirt that smells faintly of the ocean. He swings his arms back and forth a few times to test the mobility, then bends and straightens his right arm.

“Everything works?” asks Sokka, stepping closer.

Zuko finds himself moving forward inadvertently. “Yeah.”

They’re leaning towards each other, both a bit hesitant, when the door opens. Aang enters the room, seemingly not noticing anything.

“We’re due in the wings in five, which means we should probably go now.”

Wonderful.

Sokka nudges Zuko. “Talk after the performance?” he asks quietly.

Zuko nods and gives Sokka a hopeful smile that’s returned readily.

As soon as Ty Lee returns in a black dress, they’re all herded backstage by Aang.

The performance itself is relatively painless and reminds Zuko of why he loves chamber music so much. (It’s too hot under the lights, but eye contact and shared smiles with Sokka make Zuko forget.)

Apparently people in this chamber music program have to sit in the audience if they don’t have cellists who are prone to ditching performances, so Zuko sits next to Sokka in the back corner of the amphitheater. At one point, Sokka’s hand creeps onto the armrest between them, so Zuko slips his hand under Sokka’s. Sokka’s fingers curl to intertwine their fingers, and Zuko brings their combined hands up to press a kiss to the back of Sokka’s hand, which makes Sokka squeeze his hand and grin.

Zuko grins back, heart fluttering and the ~~horrid~~ ensemble onstage completely forgotten.

**Author's Note:**

> [tumblr!](https://oldpapertowns.tumblr.com) (warning: sideblog)
> 
> classical composers were wild, yall. tchaikovsky took his nephew as a lover and called him bob. mozart,,, liked meowing like a cat and had Something going on w scat. like theres a whole ass wiki page titled ‘mozart and scatology’ i cannot make this shit up. i’m sure theres more but im also sure ive scrubbed the cursed facts from my memory bc jfc i did Not need to know that
> 
> surprisingly enough, i couldn’t find many recordings of the quartet i imagine them playing. there was [this](https://youtu.be/xqhB9SpmBu4), which i found in my eighth minute of scouring youtube. (coincidentally, that minute was also the one where i gave up on finding a recording that didn’t sound like it’d been recorded on a rotten potato) (i dont like this recording much bc i feel like the cello drags a bit and is on the heavier side whereas violin 1 is very upbeat and bouncy but also i am not a professional and this stuff is subjective)  
> i might make this a series but also i might not, though i mAy do something that has to do w classical musician atla in the future. violinist!zuko/violist!sokka is a concept im liking a lot and holds a very special place in my heart so we shall see!
> 
> ty for reading!! stay safe, sane, etc. <33


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